Hit The Bottle
by ForeverPandora
Summary: Ten years after the war, Hermione has returned to Hogwarts as a teacher. Eleven years after the war, she decides she will be the one to bring the spirit of Christmas to the dungeons


**AN: what better way to relieve stress than to pound out a quick Christmassy one shot? Happy Christmas everyone! (Yes, I know it's early)**

**Just to clarify – 1. I like to pretend the epilogue never happened... **

** 2. The characters are ooc – please forgive me, it is Christmas after all**

**Summary:** Ten years after the war, Hermione has returned to Hogwarts as a teacher. When Christmas rolls around she notices that a certain tall, dark and sinister potions professor has no presents. Eleven years after the war, she decides she will be the one to bring the spirit of Christmas to the dungeons.

**WARNING: It's been rated M because I have a thing for details – please respect the ratings system.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognise comes from the fruitful imagination of JKR, anything you don't comes from the slightly less fruitful and slightly more perverse imagination of yours truly...**

**Hit The Bottle**

_-#-Last day of term before the Winter Holiday-#-_

Professor Hermione Granger had survived her first full term as a Hogwarts staff member. Just. She had thought that waiting a full decade before returning would have been plenty of tie for everyone to stop gawping and murmuring fervently about _The Golden Trio_ and their heroic saving of the magical world – honestly, it was like being some sort of comic book sidekick, or maybe one of the leading characters in a world renowned book.

She now reflected that perhaps taking the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts over Transfiguration might have been a mistake. At least if she'd been teaching them how to turn matchsticks into needles, every second question wouldn't be "Please Professor, did Harry Potter use this spell against You-Know-Who?" or "Did you actually use this counter curse during the war?" It got very boring when you could almost always predict the questions before they were asked.

Slumped in her favourite chair in the teachers lounge, Hermione pulled out the clip that held her hair firmly in a knot on the back of her head all day and gave her head a little shake. Ordinarily she would have waited until she had the privacy of her own rooms before she let loose her riot of brown curls, but today she just didn't have the energy to care.

"Granger, your birds nest is blocking my light." A familiar voice rasped from somewhere in the corner behind her. The war had been hard on Severus Snape, the first five years afterwards possibly more so. He had spent the first 18 months bound to a hospital bed while healers did their best to save anything they could (the partial restoration of his voice was considered beyond miraculous by most). His release from the hospital had made the papers, not because everyone was happy that he was alive, but because Aurors had met him at the main doors to arrest him. He had then spent a further six months in a cell in Azkaban whilst the Ministry finished trawling through the remaining Death Eater trials and appeals. His trial itself had been long and arduous, the new Minister for Magic, one Theodore Shiftly, seemed to have some sort of personal grudge against the man, though no one was sure quite what it was. It was only when every single order member turned up to bear witness to his innocence (a group that included over half of the new Auror's department) that he finally granted a pardon. As a precaution, Severus was banned from teaching DADA, he also had a set of stringent restrictions on potions ingredients he was allowed to purchase, as well as a trace put on him to check for the use of any spell considered Dark Magic by the Ministry. His release had sparked a media frenzy, he consequentially spent the next two years practically hiding in his own house until finally Minerva McGonagall, now Headmistress of Hogwarts had finally coerced him into returning to Hogwarts. She had promised him any room he wanted (he wanted his old dungeon), she had promised him a new lab, and she had promised she would find a way to bypass the ingredient restrictions. More importantly, though, she had promised that any reporter found inside the grounds without her express permission would be handed over to the giant squid (or similar punishment) – in short she had promised him privacy. Now, he was sat in the furthest corner of the staff lounge, a potions text balanced on his knee and a roll of parchment pinned to the arm of the chair with his quill. By his usual standards, his remark was definitely sub-par, and so Hermione felt no qualms about ignoring him.

"He's just in a foul mood because it almost Christmas." Minerva told her, speaking quietly enough for it to sound confidential but loud enough for him to catch every word. Hermione thought she heard a _humph_ come from the corner. "I think he's convinced himself he's allergic to frivolity and fun"

The book on his knee snapped shut. "I merely commented that, being as not one single student is remaining for the holidays, and indeed there will only be three members of staff at the Christmas meal, that perhaps all these garish decorations had become somewhat obsolete."

"Four, Severus, there will be four members of staff at the Christmas meal." Hermione wondered vaguely if Minerva was deliberately provoking him by adopting the tone of gentle correction one might use on a toddler just learning to count.

"No, there will be three: yourself, _Professor_ Granger," it was really quite impressive how he managed to make her new title sound like an insult, "and Poppy."

"You've left it a bit late to hand in your holiday notice, Severus."

"You've left it a bit late to add attending the Christmas meal to my contractual list of mandatory duties, Minerva." He was gone in a billow of black robes, leaving Minerva's response hanging on her lips.

Everyone knew that although the Headmistress and the Potions Master bickered more than any other pair of staff members, Minerva was also the only member of staff that could honestly call Severus her friend. She had been amongst the first to apologise for doubting him, and she had fought the hardest to get his trial thrown out of court.

-#X#-

_-#-Christmas Eve – early evening-#-_

Walking around Hogwarts with your nose in a book came with certain risks. One of them was that if you were watching a page instead of were you are going; you tended not to notice when the staircases start messing with your journey. Another was that you tended to collide with other people who were also wandering around with their noses in books, or reports, or files, or what ever it was that Minerva had been holding when Hermione walked straight into her in the entrance hall.

"Oh, Minerva!" Hermione helped the head mistress to her feet, "I'm so sorry, I was just-"

"Reading?" There were times when Minerva looked at her just so, and it really made Hermione feel like a first year all over again. She nodded a little sheepishly. "Not to worry, dear, they weren't important. Just some things I wanted Severus to sign." The headmistress flicked her wand almost lazily at the scattered papers, bringing them soaring back into a neat pile in her arms.

"Are you headed there now? I was just off to the kitchens, mince pies and hot chocolate. It is Christmas Eve after all."

Minerva shook her head with a sigh. "I've just been. Should have known I'd be wasting my time. He's started early this year, clearly."

"What ever do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing for you to worry about. It's the same every year. Severus has always hated Christmas, especially these last years, since he returned to Hogwarts, I think it brings back a few too many painful memories. Usually he's quite good at dealing with his own issues, you know? But Christmas he just drinks. I go down every year on Christmas Eve, find some excuse, try to distract him, but he's usually already in a stupor by the time I get down there. Christmas day as well. it's the main reason I don't insist he attends the meal, though I'd never admit it to him. I mean, firstly I can't imagine that seeing him in that state would do anything to warm up the rest of the staffs opinion of him. Secondly, though, it's just that I really can't abide drunkenness, there's just no need for it and I have no patience for people in that state."

Hermione nodded her understanding and shortly after the two women went their separate ways. Minerva went back to her office, thoughts of Severus soon pushed out of her head by budgets and staff meeting schedules. Hermione continued on to the kitchens, where she sat, munching on a mince pie and sipping her hot chocolate, pondering what would make a man who valued his self control and his dignity as much as Severus Snape, turn to a substance that would divest him of both. She realised that she had never seen him take so much as a sip of any drink containing alcohol before now; even at meals he usually drank water, or iced tea.

-#X#-

_-#-Christmas Day– mid-morning-#-_

As there were no students to speak of, the staff of Hogwarts had no reason to rush out of bed. Hermione found the staff room almost empty when she arrived at 10.50am, Many of the teachers that were there were preparing to leave for the homes of their families, having only stopped in to collect presents form the other staff members, and few students, which the house elves had left in neat, labelled piles around the Christmas tree in the staff room.

As she collected her own pile she noticed that one of the missing names was that of the potions master. It really shouldn't have surprised her. It really shouldn't have annoyed her. "Has Severus already collected his presents?" she asked Poppy, there was always a slim chance.

"What presents?" Hillary Angora, the muggle studies teacher, laughed. "who on earth would waste their money buying that miserable old git a present?"

Hermione bit her tongue. Poppy patted her hand gently; she had always been good at reading peoples tiniest expressions, "He doesn't want people to buy him presents, Hermione. He's better left to his own devices, even when he was a student he was the same."

Hermione spent the rest of the day replaying that one tiny snippet of conversation. She just didn't understand what the other teacher's problem with Severus was. Sure he wasn't exactly sociable, but he was never openly hostile unless provoked, or at least never as hostile as she knew he could be. He made all the schools potions, including any special requests made by the staff, without complaint. He had survived more than any of them during the war, had put up with every insult and snide comment anyone had thrown at him afterwards. She just couldn't understand their attitudes. Maybe there was something she could do t change their minds, or at least make him feel a little bit less of an outcast.

-#X#-

_-#-One Year Later-#-_

It was perfect. It had taken her all year to find it, to carefully select the wrapping paper, choose the right words to put on the little gift tag, put now it was done and it was perfect. Hermione felt quite pleased with herself as she sat at the table for Christmas lunch. She had even thought about his preference for keeping things private. She hadn't given it to the house elves to put under the tree with all the other teachers gifts. She would deliver it in person later that day. That way no one would know unless he chose to tell them. Absolutely, down to the last detail, perfect.

Lunch finished and Hermione returned to her rooms. Time to give herself a Christmas present. She had four hours to kill before the time she had decided she would go gift-giving. That meant she had plenty of time to soak herself into a perfect state of relaxation. She also had plenty of time to pamper herself with a little makeup, maybe even try out a few new spell meant to tame her hair. After all, it was always nice to feel good about oneself and these days Hermione certainly didn't do that often. Teaching robes were not flattering, and she certainly had no time for hair and makeup in the mornings.

Hermione had had a good afternoon. She smiled as she made her way down through the castle towards the dungeons. She was well aware that Severus would probably just shut the door on her, if he opened it in the first place. She didn't mind. She would just leave the present outside if needs be. She met no one, for which she was grateful as she wasn't entirely certain how she would explain her presence in this part of the castle without giving the game away. Finally she reached the hidden door she was searching for and knocked.

-#X#-

Severus sat on the sofa in his private rooms, his bare feet on the coffee table, a book in his hand and a mug of hot chocolate on the table. All in all it had been quite a good day, as Christmases went. He had managed to avoid Minerva and her annoying last minute tasks all of yesterday, she hadn't even showed up in the evening. Maybe she was finally going to leave him in peace.

No sooner had the thought of peace crossed his mind than his furthest distance wards alerted him to someone turning into the corridor where his door was concealed. He checked his watch. There were no students here. There was no innocuous reason for any of the staff to be in the corridor, his corridor at this time on a Christmas afternoon unless... the second wards went off, the person was female, she was about the right height and build to be Minerva. Severus Swore under his breath and vanished both the book and the chocolate. If that woman thought that coming a day late was going to get him, she was wrong. He had always perpetuated the rumour that he spent his Christmas days as he spent his Christmas eves for exactly this reason. He summoned the ancient bottle of firewhiskey from its hole on the top shelf of the book case and quickly dabbed just a little of the spirit against his fingers, which he rubbed against his lips. He ran his hand back through his hair to make it look untidy. He loosened his tie and undid the top three buttons of his shirt, pulling his earlier discarded outer robes back on at a slightly uneven angle. The final layer of wards went off, any moment she would be knocking on the door. Severus had a final sweep of the room with his eyes, there was no time to mess the place up, it would just have to do.

The knock came. Severus took his time in going to the door, swaying his steps to make it sound like a drunken stagger. He made a big thing of kicking over a pile of books and swearing loudly in a well practiced slur as he passed them. Leaning heavily on the wall as in gracefully as he could, he flung open the door and waited for Minerva's usual greeting when she found him 'in this state'.

-#X#-

Hermione only remembered what Minerva had told her about Severus drinking at Christmas when she heard the heavy, stumbling steps approaching the door, halted for a moment by a collision with something heavy and a few slurred profanities. When the door was flung open, she had to admit she winced at the strong smell of whiskey that greeted her, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the half finished bottle on the coffee table. "Um, I just came to, umm..." She stammered as his eyes focused for a second on her face and surprise registered on his face. He must be drunk, she thought to herself, he would never let that much surprise show if he wasn't.

Severus cursed mentally when he realised that it wasn't actually Minerva at the door. Quite what Granger was here for he had no idea, not that it mattered. It was quite amusing to see her eyes travel past him to the bottle on the table and back again. Perhaps he could give himself a present quite apart from the peace and quiet and have a little fun pulling her strings. When she spoke, he just shrugged and made his staggered way back to throw himself down on the sofa, leaving the door open. Being the curious woman she was, she followed him, carefully shutting the door behind her. Blocking her view of the glass by the way he sat, Severus tapped it with his wand, muttering a spell of his own invention that turned the contents to water whilst allowing it to keep it's own appearance and scent. He sloshed a generous measure of the whiskey into the glass and then, making sure she saw it, drained the glass in a couple of gulps. She looked absolutely appalled.

"What d'you want, Granger?" He had spent years perfecting his slur; he could even pace it for if he needed to actually sit with someone from the first drink. Not a single person in the world knew that Severus hadn't drunk a single drop of alcohol since his thirteenth birthday.

"Oh, I wanted to give you... a present." She began fishing around in her pockets for the small gift wrapped package.

"I have no need for your pity." Another glass of the pretend alcohol went down the throat in the time it took her to stop searching and look up at him. To his surprise she crossed the room and knelt down before him, gently removing the glass from his hand.

"I know that, stupid." He would have glared at her, butt hat might have shown his sobriety up, thus he was forced to allow her that small insult. "I don't pity you, Severus," There she went again, using his first name like they were friends, "I just thought that maybe this year you might like to actually do something nice at Christmas."

He almost said that he always did something nice at Christmas, but managed to catch himself. "How very Gryffindor." He pulled the glass back out of her grip and put it heavily on the table, refilling it. He also summoned a second glass and filled that. He didn't push it towards her, the implication should have been clear enough.

"Yes, well, while generosity of spirit may be a foreign concept to you Slytherin types, I think you'll find my gift to be anything but Gryffindor." She gave him a reasonably sly smile.

"I'd never have had you pegged for the pole dancing sort." He muttered sarcastically under his breathe. He almost slapped himself when he realised she had heard him. Her eyes narrowed, her head tilted just slightly to the side. For a second he thought maybe she was going to slap him instead, but then she laughed.

Hermione was so shocked when she heard him mumble something about her pole dancing that for a second she just stared at him. The comment was so completely out of sync with anything she had ever thought she knew about him. But then she told herself that he was drunk after all, and maybe, just once it might be nice to have a little fun at his expense. She laughed aloud as the thought came to her. Wondering how far she could push it, just how drunk was he? Just how far did she actually want to go? She put on what she hoped was an alluring smile and said softly, "Well there are a lot of things you don't know about me, Severus." He chocked slightly on the mouthful of drink he had just taken. Hermione picked her own drink up and sipped it. It was called firewhiskey for a reason. He fought not to cough and splutter as even that tiny sip seared everything it touched on its journey to her stomach. How on earth was he just throwing the glasses back like that? Never mind that now, she thought, you've got a present to give.

Putting her hands on his thighs she pushed herself back up to standing and slowly unbuttoned the first few buttons on her outer robes. That gave Severus a pause. Was she actually about to strip for him? Did she know he was faking? Impossible, but surely she couldn't have actually come down here with the intention of seducing him? His conscience told him he should give the game up, stop her, confess his sobriety, but the voice was being gently pushed away by the image of her delicate fingers slowly revealing a line of pale skin beneath her dark green outer robe.

Hermione licked her lips slightly as her conscience told her she shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be taking advantage of his drunken state to seduce him. Why was she even thinking of seducing him, anyway? She locked onto his eyes, saw the way they skimmed over her figure. She knew that look. She had seen it with Ron, with Viktor, even with Harry once, on a drunken evening she didn't really want to think about at the moment. His dark eyes told her. He wanted her, and that was what made her realise that actually, she wanted him too. So she continued to undo the buttons, a careful play of her hands, running them down her own slender waist then back up, across her breasts, still concealed by the simple short sleeved blouse she had chosen, as she slowly slipped the robes off her shoulders, allowing them to pool at her feet. He sat forwards a little now, the glass back on the table.

He didn't know what had come over him, really. This had to be some sort of spell. He was absolutely captivated by her lithe form as she caressed her own, still clothed body. He'd been to strip clubs, he knew the rules, look, but don't touch. She took an almost forbidden quality then that made her even more desirable. She was undoing the buttons of the blouse now, its square cut neck and flimsy fabric enticing him to imagine what was hidden underneath.

Hermione was very glad that she had had her pampering session that afternoon. She was also glad that she had given in to the whim to put on some black lace underwear instead of her usual plain white cotton she saw his eyes darken and heard his breath hitch just slightly as she exposed the first embroidered arches at the top of the bra, smiling to herself, she slowly traced her fingers across the edge of the fabric. Whilst she had known that some men looked at her with desire, their glances had nothing to the tangible heat that emanated from Severus' gaze. It was, in itself, like a caress.

The blouse fell to the floor with her robes. She carefully moved her hands across her body to the zip at the side of her skirt. She locked eyes with him as it slowly drifted downwards. It was decision time; just how far was she going to take this? Really, she already knew. She stepped forwards, out of the small pile of fabric. Without breaking eye contact with him she put a hand on the arm of the sofa and another on the back just above his shoulder, her loose hair, successfully tamed by the charm into a silky abundance of waves cascaded over her shoulder, the tips brushing the hands he held firmly clasped in his lap. They paused for a moment, both looking at each other. Hermione sense that something wasn't quite right. Had she misread the signs? She bit her lip as her nerves suddenly kicked in. If he didn't actually want this, she had just made the biggest fool of herself ever. She couldn't break the eye contact; she just kept on looking into those clear, dark eyes. That was when it hit her. She lurched away.

"You're sober!" she exclaimed, tripping over her own skirt as she moved away. "Oh, Merlin! You're not even the tiniest bit tipsy, are you?" she demanded, now pulling her outer robes straight on over her underwear, pulling them tight around her body.

Severus exhaled in a long slow his and rubbed his hands over his eyes. "No." He confessed. He was in trouble now. He knew it. He waited for her to hit him, or at least scream at him. It didn't happen. His head lowered, he could only see her feet in a pair of ridiculously high strappy sandals. His mind wandered for a moment, wondering what possessed women to put such foot wear on, surely they couldn't be comfortable. Although, he had to admit, they did make her already long and graceful legs seem to go on forever, and they drew the eye to her tiny ankles. Back on track. He chanced a glance up, she was staring at him, but she didn't look quite as horrified as she should have done. He didn't trust himself to speak. He didn't exactly have a good reputation for saying the right thing to women. He just waited.

"Why?" He had been expecting that, he had just been expecting it to sound more accusatory.

"Because it's the only way I can get Minerva to leave me alone over Christmas. She still remembers the days before the second war, you see, so she thinks she still has t-"

"No, I mean, why did you let me do that? Why didn't you stop me? And how, how did you manage to put so much heat into your stare when you didn't feel it?"

Severus quickly flicked those questions through his head. His brain whirred out the response that honesty was the best policy and at this moment in time he had nothing to lose.

"I'm sure that if I tried I could give you some spiel about how I thought it very Slytherin to allow the Gryffindor princess give herself to me as a Christmas present. I could let you walk out of here thinking me every bit as cold and callous as you doubtlessly did when you were my student. I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't know why I let you do it, or why I didn't stop you. Perhaps I'm just a pervert, deep down. Maybe the man in me saw an attractive woman taking off her clothes and said 'what the hell, it's Christmas'. Maybe I thought you wouldn't do it. I certainly didn't plan for it to happen. As for the last question. Hermione, I may have been a spy, I may have fooled countless people with various words and looks, but I swear, anything that may have been in my eyes watching you then was not put on."

She nodded slowly, seeming to contemplate his words. She raised herself up and stepped towards him, a small smile playing about her lips. She leant in very close, so that her hair once again tickled his fingers. In a whisper so delicate he felt more than heard it against his ear she said, "Can't we just pretend we're both drunk?"

Severus turned his head slowly, looking deep into her eyes for a second before he brought his lips to meet hers. What started as a few quick pecks grew rapidly into something more and soon, Severus had pulled the younger witch against him, her legs straddling him as he raked his hands through her hair and over her shoulders, her outer robes once again finding their way to the floor. As his lips traced a trail from her lips to her collar bone and his nails marked a path down her back, Hermione dropped her head back and moaned, her own hands buried in his hair. He nipped at the pulse point on her neck as he whispered huskily, "tell me to stop, Hermione. Just say it and you can walk away."

"Shut up, Severus, you're drunk remember, you should be thinking with what's in your pants, not with what's in your head, oh, gods!" his mouth clamped over her nipple through the thin fabric of her bra, teasing, suckling. Hermione moved to try to undo his shirt, no easy feat with her eyes closed and her fingers trembling with anticipation. She ground her hips against him, feeling the hardness beneath her even through the course fabric of his trousers. The growl that emanated from deep in his chest as she did this caused her to give a gleeful giggle and repeat the gesture. He pulled her closer, moving his own hips up to meet hers. His hands hooked into the waistband of her knickers and he gently began shifting them down her legs. She stepped back a little to get them all the way off. When he reached out for her again she raised an eyebrow in her best imitation of the potions master who had once taught her and teasingly stepped out of the reach of his fingers. "ah, ah, don't you think things look a little unbalanced here?" she asked, gesturing to his clothes, his shirt may have been open, but he was definitely still fully dressed. He stood up slowly, advancing on her, she moved back until she found herself pressed against the cold stone wall, wearing only her bra and her shoes.

"I'm not so certain that me taking my clothes off will add anything tot he situation." He tried to make it sound a confident, alluring statement, tried to keep the slight edge of nervousness out of his voice. She almost fell for it.

"Severus, no scars you have are going to put me off." He hesitated so she moved forwards; pressing herself against him she kissed his lips again, gently this time, running her tongue across his lower lip before drawing it into her mouth. Her hands guided his shirt off his shoulders whilst he was distracted. Slowly she drew back, looking at him. Taking In the intricate pattern the vast number of scars painted across his pale skin. He could feel her gaze on him, feel her noting every line. He bent to pick up his shirt, but her hand caught his wrist. "I see nothing for you to be ashamed of. I see only medals and trophies, these things that show what a great and powerful wizard you are, what a great and powerful man." He shuddered slightly as she lightly traced her fingers over a long thin line that reached from his right hip across and up to just below his lowest left rib. Before he knew what she was doing she was on her knees before him, running her tongue across that same line. His hand reached out to the wall to steady himself. Smiling again, Hermione stood up and pulled him once more into a searing kiss.

This time there was no hesitation, he pushed her against the wall again; his hands exploring every inch of her body as hers explored his. He made short work of unclasping her bra, making her feel a little foolish and inexperienced when she fumbled with his belt. The thought was driven out of her head by the feel of his teeth gently pulling at her newly exposed nipple just as one of his long fingers flicked over her clit. She couldn't suppress the gasp as her hands moved up to grip his shoulders, nails biting into the marked flesh there. His finger circled and then pressed, as his teeth nibbled once again. Coherent thought went out the window for Hermione. His hands moved up her body then, his lips finding hers once more. Her own hands entwined themselves in his hair, trying to pull him closer. He continued to kiss her, their tongues battling fervently as he undid his own belt and trousers, allowing them to fall. She was somewhat surprised, and definitely exhilarated to discover that he wore nothing under them. She could feel him pressing against her now, the urgent heat. Her hands ran down his back, nails digging into the flash of his buttocks as he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist, pinned by him against the wall. He didn't enter her immediately, instead he teased her, slowly rubbing the tip of his erect penis against her clit and the damp opening to her vagina until she whimpered against his lips, all but begging him for more.

"Go on, Hermione, tell me what you want." He whispered, suckling on her earlobe so that she panted and shuddered beneath his touch.

"Please," she gasped, "Oh Merlin, please Severus."

"Yes Hermione?" he asked, still tantalising, still slowly rubbing.

"Fuck me, Severus, please. I need it, I need to feel you." she moaned, her eyes closed as her body trembled continuously. He thrust into her hard. She cried out some incoherent word that might have been 'yes' or it might have been 'fuck'. She didn't are, her head fell to one side as he pulled back and thrust into her again and again. One of his hands supported her buttocks; the other toyed with her breast. It was not long before both of them were breathless, sweat dripping from their bodies.

"Touch yourself, Hermione." He told her, his breathing feathering against her skin.

"But I don't need –"

"I know, darling, but just do it, for me." Slowly Hermione withdrew her hands from their roving over the muscles of his back and brought one hand down to brush against her own hot lower flesh. She could feel him against her hand, pounding into her and as she slowly began to rub circles around herself, she felt the fingers of his supporting hand begin to squeeze at her bum methodically. She sped up her own movements to match his, feeling her orgasm bubbling in side of her. Her whole body quaked with it as it finally tore through her making her cry out his name as her muscles clenched around him. She felt him join her in ecstasy a moment later as he gave his own shout and dropped to his knees, taking her with him. She showered him with kisses then, as small aftershocks rippled through both their bodies, she kissed his lips, his nose, even his closed eyelids. He carefully pulled out of her, whispering a cleansing charm. He kissed her lips gently, so softly she thought it almost more intimate than what they had just shared.

They stayed knelt down, looped together against the wall for an incalculable amount of time; in fact, they only drew apart when a slightly embarrassed Severus confessed his legs had gone numb. This of course caused Hermione to jump up, issuing profuse apologies. He silenced her with another kiss. "You're not so good at remembering your drunk, either, you see, you're supposed to laugh and then discover you can't get up either." Hermione smiled. She liked this version of Severus much more than the usual cranky detention issuing Slytherin she was used to. Unfortunately, she knew that her one night had to come to an end, and, just like Cinderella, she could hear the clocks of the castle beginning to strike midnight. With a slight sigh she crossed the room, reclaiming her clothes as she went. Severus just watched her. It was only when her hand was on the door handle that he finally whispered "you know, I'm not entirely certain all the drunkenness has worn off yet, maybe you ought to stay. Of course, there's also the benefit that, as I'm the potions master, you'll have to come to me in the morning to get your hangover cure anyway."

Hermione was in his arms again in an instant. The force knocked him back against the wall as her lips crashed onto his. "I guess I'd better show you were the bed is, then," he added, a little dazedly when they broke apart.

-#X#-

The next morning when Hermione woke, she didn't quite realise were she was until she stretched, and the pillow she pushed her hand into grunted. As the previous night came flooding back to her the only thoughts that echoed through her head were _oh fuck, oh fuck._ It wasn't that she had any regrets, why should she, it had been unequivocally the best night of her life, it was more that she was almost 99% certain that he would have regrets, and that would lead to numerous awkward conversations, and avoidance, and probably eventually, her having to leave Hogwarts and look for a new job when she couldn't stand the pressure anymore. These thoughts were washed away by a strong arm that curled around her waist and a pair of soft lips that brushed against her shoulder.

"Severus, I-"

"Go back to sleep, Hermione."

"But Severus, I-"

"Do you want to leave?" a small glimmer of concern flitted into his voice.

"no." She confessed.

"Then I don't see why you're talking. Go back to sleep."

"But don't you want me to-"

Severus heaved a huge sigh. "Hermione, I made the mistake of letting go of a woman I loved once before. I'm not about to do it again. Go back to sleep."

"Did you just say-"

"Yes. Go. Back. To. Sleep."

"Oh, Severus! I love you too." Hermione beamed, rolling over in his arms.

"You're not going back to sleep, are you?" the resignation in his voice made her laugh out loud. "Alright, fine, I'll go make some breakfast or something." He sat up.

"No, you won't." She laughed as she pulled him back down so that she could kiss him as passionately as she could muster.

-#x#-THE END-#X#-

**AN: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Hugs and cookies, ForeverPandora.**

**. To those of you who are also reading my longer fic 'Diamonds Are Forever', I promise I will be updating soon, I just needed to write something a little more light and fluffy before I get back to the serious business... **


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